Electric cars, Latin America, and the Great Power Competition
In 2024, it became clear that the West had lost the competition in electromobility to the East. American flagship companies such as Ford or GM are lagging in producing electric cars (EVs). Tesla, which until 2022 was the leading supplier of pure EVs, has been overtaken by Chinese manufacturer BYD since 2023 while facing difficulties in its sales, profit margins and supply chain intertwined with Asia. On the other side of the Atlantic, Germany's Volkswagen also showed that it could not compete with Asian companies by announcing the closure of two factories in its territory (an unprecedented move), which Chinese companies could take over. In Asia, Japanese companies can compete, especially Toyota, which leads in the production of hybrid EVs. Nissan and Honda announced plans to merge, in December 2024, and take on the Red Dragon cars. Although the deal with Nissan did not go through, the company is continuing with its restructuring plans. In this article, we will review what this means for Latin America as it transitions towards electromobility in the context of the trade war launched by Washington.
